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Ton-up boys strengthen links to club game

Some 101 professional players from Edinburgh Rugby, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland 7s have been drafted to the clubs in the BT Premiership for the new league campaign.

All ten Premiership clubs participated in the draft, with six of the clubs aligned to Edinburgh Rugby and four to Glasgow Warriors, Currie opting to bracket themselves with Glasgow through the Premiership Forum to enable a more equitable split of players. Scotland 7s players are also aligned to the pro-clubs.

Elite Development players are not part of the draft, while first year professionals are automatically linked to the club from which they were signed.

First picks

Boroughmuir, promoted to the BT Premiership, had first pick of the Edinburgh players, with Stirling County, lowest placed last season of the Glasgow aligned clubs, having first choice of the Glasgow squad.

Stephen Gemmell, Scottish Rugby’s Acting Head of Academy, said: “The pro-player draft is an important part of our joint determination to close the gap between the top end of the club game and professional rugby.

“For the players it means that when they are not involved in a match-day squad for their pro-club or Scotland 7s, then they can get game time and contribute to the well-being of their allocated club.

“For the clubs there’s a great opportunity to work with the professional players so that everyone can benefit.”

Peter Laverie, Premiership representative on the Scottish Rugby Council, added: “A strong and growing connection between the Premiership clubs and the professional game is central to continuing to improve the standard of our game.

“The BT Premiership is an exciting competition and we’ll see some innovation this year, too, with knockout matches to determine the eventual champions.”